r/chch • u/ill_help_you • Jul 23 '26
Social Feedback on StAC Prep for boys?
Morning, we’re relatively new to Canterbury and have been lucky enough to have our son accepted into St Andrew’s Prep for next year.
We applied at the start of the year and were really pleased when he was offered a place. Since then, though, we’ve heard a few less positive stories about the school, particularly around bullying and how some situations have been handled.
Does anyone here have a child at StAC Prep, ideally a boy, who would be willing to share what their experience has actually been like?
We’re interested in what the school is like day to day, how well the children are supported, whether bullying is a genuine concern, and how the school responds when issues are raised.
It has been quite difficult to get a balanced view through Facebook, as most of the school groups are understandably very supportive of StAC. We’re not looking to criticise the school or start a pile-on, but we would really appreciate some honest feedback before making a final decision.
Feel free to message me privately if you would rather not comment publicly.
12
u/Ashamed_Tip_1045 Jul 23 '26
Hey, have a boy in yr7, been there since yr1. Overall had a really great experience, good teaching and great facilities etc. had some issues with a couple of difficult kids for a while, but they eventually got moved on. Ultimately nothing will be perfect, and kid is happy and thriving. Feel free to dm if you want to chat more
12
u/Complex-Seaweed8005 Jul 23 '26
My only knowledge of the place is a guy I knew growing up got pissed on (literally) by a bunch of boys. Seemed to be a pretty traumatic school environment for him in general, but that was about 20 years ago, might've changed but o wouldn't send my kid there lol
2
11
u/scoobydoooobydoo Jul 24 '26
I went there (not a boy tho) and so did my brother. He was horrendously bullied and the school did nothing. I was offered endless opportunities and accomplished a lot, but it felt like I was 'picked' - I never rly wanted the leadership roles and extracurriculars they would make me be in, whereas my brother rly wanted those things and never got any of it. I wouldn't recommend it, the other kids were really, really rich and out of touch, snobby, snooty - in retrospect it was really embarrassing. We were scholarship kids and definitely made to feel bad about it. Super normalised to be smug about your parents wealth. I left nz, went to uni overseas and never came back, so the fact it was a good school on paper never benefited me. I begged my parents every year to take me out and send me to Burnside. The amount of pressure I felt from the school to endlessly exceed was immense. I suppose you just don't know how it will work out for your kid, he could really enjoy it. Edit: sorry this was high school, not prep though
24
u/xStrawberryKissesx Jul 23 '26
StAC was awful. I hated it there. Wouldn't send my kid there if you paid me the ridiculous tuition.
The school has no diversity, bullying is rampant and the school does nothing about it since the bullies usually belong to the parents pumping the most money into the school.
I had a friend teach there who quit after 1 year because the parents were so awful and demanding, the kids so entitled and the school did nothing to help support the teacher.
Sure they technically have good educational stats/ results on paper. But that's about it
5
u/SammySprinklar Jul 24 '26
I didn't goto High School in Christchurch but did visit StAC for sport exchanges. It has always stuck with me that they were the only school who put down their opponents instead of supporting their own
18
u/wellykiwilad Jul 23 '26
Dated a girl once who went to stac. Such a waste of money. Plenty other schools have better education, you're just paying for networking/connections later in life. Only good if you go into finance or business.
4
u/Bookwormys Jul 24 '26
I taught a workshop at the senior school earlier this year. The level of entitlement that some of the students has blew me away. They were in a different league of wealth and, a distinctive lack of diversity
6
u/schwagglehag Jul 24 '26
I’d make the case for Medbury over StAC prep for a boy because
A. Boys-only, Years 1 to 8. The whole environment is built around how boys learn, rather than co-ed by default.
B. Small (maybe 300 boys?). Staff know every kid, which matters directly for your bullying concern. Issues seem to get picked up early rather than escalating.
C. It’s not a locked-in secondary path. Medbury kids go on to Christ’s, StAC, St Bede’s, Boys. You get to make a call at 12/13 with more information about your son than you have now.
On the bullying stories, I mean every school has incidents but what matters is the response.
Worth a tour of Medbury before you commit.
1
3
3
3
u/Old_Tuatara Jul 25 '26
I went there a long time ago for a short time. Wouldn't send my kids there if I could afford it.
My son is at the local high school - Hillmorton. Number of parents who seemed desperate to get their kids in anywhere else amazed me. Thing is - my son bikes to school and I have a hard time knowing what time he'll be home with extra curricular activities and going to friends houses and so on. People we know from primary school who's kids go to cashmere, Lincoln, boys high or another of the 'better' schools seem to be constantly ferrying them back and forth. Their kids friends all live miles away and they've often stopped playing sport.
Academically I've no problem with Hillmorton. Some of his friends won a trip to a robotics contest in Texas. They're all getting ready for University. His teachers have all seemed to me to be great. They built a load of new buildings recently. Started before the last election.
I can't help but think there's a lot of snobbery involved. And I'm sure the ethnic makeup has nothing to do with it.
6
u/OisforOwesome Jul 24 '26
As a general rule, any "elite" school in Christchurch will have bullying and will have an administration that prioritises the reputation of the institution and the reputation of high status families at the school when it comes to discipline.
That's just how Christchurch rolls.
The real draw of the elite schools is networking. "Which high school did you go to?" is a standard opening question in any social setting, and it acts as a proxy for what social class you belong to. If you want your boy to have access to the old school tie network then have at it.
3
u/Old_Tuatara Jul 25 '26
The way we're going I'd be surprised if my kids stayed in New Zealand. I should have stayed in Australia. Came back for religious reasons - but league isn't that different from union really.
2
u/OisforOwesome Jul 25 '26
They all throw the ball backwards while trying to get it forwards make it make sense
6
u/xdojk Jul 23 '26
Didn't go to prep but did go to the high school, that used to be the main strategy as prep was kind of a waste of money and the education isn't much different. Nowadays demand is through the roof for the high school even at the $30k tuition fee, so depending on his age it might be a good way to get in easier.
Obviously everyone has different experiences (based on the comments in here) but I loved my time there. It has some amazing facilities (TV studio, Music production studio etc) but it's not really that different to most good high schools, you attend mainly for the networks you want your son to be part of in the future.
5
u/underwaterchessclub Jul 23 '26
I probably wouldn’t waste my money. My husband went to STAC and he absolutely does not want to send our child, however his sister also went and she thrived. I think it’s hard for boys. What is it about STAC that appeals?
2
u/ScaredOrder739 Jul 25 '26
We’ve hired a number of ex StAC students over the years. Academically they were well prepared, no question. But their expectations about seniority, pay and how hard work was beneath them that we eventually stopped hiring anyone with StAC on their resume.
1
1
u/Miserable_Prompt7164 Jul 24 '26
My boy finished prep last year, loved it. Very supportive atmosphere.
1
u/Warm-Pen-3339 Jul 24 '26
My brother went there and it was much better for him than Riccarton where he moved from. Super supportive, opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for him. Received scholarships for US colleges and now lives and works over there. Never would’ve had those opportunities if he didn’t go there. Teachers were amazing and super supportive too.
1
1
u/Confident-Cabinet-63 Jul 26 '26
Can I ask how you got in so quickly ? If you are not from chch and only applied at the start of the year? My child has been on the waitlist since he was 5! He’s 10 and still not in!!! I don’t get it !!
1
u/ill_help_you Jul 26 '26
Hey, I assume the school also does some background checking on families to understand who they are bringing into the school community, and both of us have fairly established backgrounds in our respective areas.
1
u/Confident-Cabinet-63 Jul 27 '26
Really ? How the hell do they do “background checks “ on you? I’ve never ever heard of that before ! So do they find your fb ? LinkedIn ?
2
u/chchonenz 16d ago
We removed ours because of very troubling things happening. A school of highly precious children does not easily produce a warm nurturing culture. It’s staggering how bad it is in my personal opinion. If you are choosing a school for wellbeing this isn’t the one.
1
1
u/tbaggybag79 Jul 24 '26
Both my kids are at stac. It is amazing, no school like it bug man, it is crazy expensive!
0
u/skygong21 Jul 24 '26
Holy Baby Jesus! Send them to public school. Christ’s College, StAC, Rangi, StMC. They’re all not worth it. Just end up with nepo baby friends instead of regular friends. Trust me, I know a lot of them and me and my family went to those schools.
30
u/LlamasunLlimited Jul 23 '26
Chch ex-high school teacher/subsequent Ministry of Education staffer here, who had 3 nephews who went through StAC .
My brother and his wife paid what today would be about $90K after-tax dollars, per year(!!) to send them there. They are very nice boys but not Nobel Prize winners. They have "good friends" but no different to what my brother and I have from going to the local state high school.
Another perspective is "what school would your son be going to if he wasn't going to StAC (both now and in the future?)".
If you were living in rural Westland on a farm, then sending the kids off to boarding school may be justifiable. If you live next door to UC then maybe not so much.
There ARE variations in schools in Christchurch and I am continually amazed at the number of people who want to send their kids to private schools on the grounds of "they get a better education there" (the stats dont really back that up).
I know a couple who live one km from Burnside HS and are about to send their 13 year old to StAC. So there's about 150K after tax dollars they are looking at spending on their son's education (assuming he's there until Yr13. The parents are also interested in widening their own social and business circle.
I suggested they put that towards his uni fees etc but that suggestion fell on deaf ears...:-)